Health Minister lauds CIL's initiative in treatment of Thalassemia patients

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan lauded state-owned CIL for its initiative to treat underprivileged thalassemia patients below 12 years through bone marrow transplant, the coal behemoth said on Thursday.

In a virtual programme, the minister lauded the endeavour of public sector undertaking in providing such facility to below poverty line patients suffering from hematological disorders.

"Coal India's (CIL) efforts in its Bal Sewa Yojana, the treatment of underprivileged Thalassemia patients aged below 12 through Bone Marrow Transplant, on Wednesday received appreciation from Harsh Vardhan," the maharatna firm said in a statement.

Children whose parents' annual income is below Rs 5 lakh are eligible for the scheme.

On the recommendations of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, CIL was the first Central Public Sector Enterprise to have launched such a scheme in April 2017 at a time when there was no Central scheme to treat thalassemia patients.

CIL took up the role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) measure with an outlay of Rs 20 crore, extending Rs 10 lakh per patient at the maximum.

As many as 136 patients have benefited under the scheme in the first phase so far.

The total CSR spent by CIL and its eight subsidiary companies during the last five years, ending 2019-20 was over Rs 3,000 crore.

CIL and its subsidiaries have spent around Rs 588 crore on CSR during financial year 2020 encompassing education, rural development, healthcare, women empowerment, skill development, sports among others.